FATAL FIRE AT NEWTOWN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 687, 8 February 1881, Page 2

FATAL FIRE AT NEWTOWN.

THREE CHILLREN BURNT TO DEATH.

(FromtheN.Z. Times.) • It is, tortunately, a lone time since the Press has had , the; painful duty of recording so disastrous a fire, attended withVso lamentable a loss of, life- as that, ; occurring on 'Saturday night last at Newtown. • V

In a six-roomed cottage at the. top of Riddiford-street, adjoining the.Newtowtr Recreation Ground, lived a carter 1 named ' AVhittington, his wife and three childcen, named Herbert . Christopher . (aged' 6 years), Sarah Olive (aged' 3 years); and Millie, a baby- twelve months old, Shortly, before eight o'clock ou Saturday 'night the mother left for town,, wjth the ' intention of purchasing boots for'the .children, and her husband left the house .(locking the doors) somewhat later; in order , to ..meet her on her return by the '■.o.'3O' tram. Wnen Mr • Whittingtonleft the house the eldest child was-sleeping in.< . separate ;cot, and the two younger In • their-parents' bed, No light fas left in : thebedrooipf.but'ih the kitohenalamp was upon the table, and a small wood fire wasin the grate, The house (Which belonged, to Mr Sutherland, of, the Wairarapa,) was ; a., six-roomed building,; the upper ; portion of'which was unocuupied, Th'a . husband juet hi?" wife at the trajiiway > terminus, and they were returning ta ; their residence, when both distinctly detected a smell of burning, but'at first - .wjthout Suspicion' that their own dwellf ing was on • fire,' The agony of the poor mother, when) on reaching the top of JJewtown, she found the whiph contained Jier three only chili dren enveloped in flames, passes desorip- ; tion, Already some neighbours—notably. Messrs Sage and Hazzlewood and a Chinaman—were at work to ; resoii'e !tlie poor children, whose screams were heaftr rending;, but;although the , ap4 thp pftveiits wprp able to get Into the Ifitchpn they were beaten back from entering the bedroom by the smpke and flames,' The glare of the fire was visible in the Oity-at10.15 p.m,-, but jtwps, fully fiftp^ minutes after that time that ah alarm,was . given from the Mount Cook fire-bell, and ■some five minutes or more intervened before the fire-bell at" the Te A ro station took up the alarip. then the impression prevailing was that the fire was merely gorse.burninst on the hills, and in : fact the. reflection had.nearly died away beforp the Mqnicipal Brigade had started, jn |ij}lf ; p-]) o Hr f & tjipp tjip building, of the lean-to, pa mass of. charred embers. In i the ruin's were. discovered the body of the eldest boy, completely" baked, but still intact | the trunk merely of the seoond child, and unidentifiable remains of the baby. To these lias to be added a blackened foot belonging to the latter, which was handed to Constable-Macka? to the following morning. The remains "were, of course, .instantly removed to the morgue to await an inquest, , Various surmises as to the cause of the shocking-fire are afloat, but the strong, probability is that some- burning erabprfl dropped-frotji{l]eMtQljen pre^idignitpd tie-partition, on the. other'sid'e of whioft the three, little poor little .victims were peacefully sleeping. We understand that, the father, on entering the house, found the lamp burning on the kitchen table preoiselyaß he bad-left |t, so' tjjtt} surmises as to the lapip or bprst- ! - •iDg are useless." It is' right to considering the distance from town to (lie scene of.th'e fireit.p? a' wonder that so .many firemen;: fire police, anj!t salvage men : jo qn' fhe! gp The efforts of the neighboi s to estate the o]iildrep aje 'stated by eye-witnesses to' be'vyorthy of all praise, though unhappily ineffectual, The oircumsVaticea attending this lamentable affair fill, be fully investi•by ; 'Dr ]ohn jon' this the niorgiie, The'parents q| ; - .the dead children! arp,yotfiig persons highly-.wspeete'd in ■■Newt6wn; v tod the 'deepest Byrapathy.is felfc 'for • thefii.' The house was insured with Messrs Bethuhe and Hunter, agents for the Union Company, though for what- sum we are unable to ascertain at.p,tejentj'b'ut MtWhittineton's worldly belongings were uninjured. A florrespondftnti wiflt'es .in'reference to the lamentable occurrence—ln' giving an aocount of tho fire and loss of. life at'Newtown, on Saturday evening, - wiTl-you please mention that the ■ Corporation,- = having erected a small building at Newtown, and pnt a small reel and hose there-: in, have rfegleoted to plate, itin Charge of any persona, although' motes' p'go ; nuifif: bers of the inhabitants of Newtbmj offered' tp : . form a brigade. The' bell' 11 now lyilig where' it was pitched' on the" ground at the back of the'building many itnonthß ago. "The alarm wjiich" brought out the town brigades was first'given on the private (ire bell in the yard of-Messrs Kitchen and' Son's candle and soap works, and (his was answered by tjiel^ount-.Cook

j h S r ff H u ff ed 51110 tho han w gaveto tlin . P re Bent proprietor, 'aseftS&siU; »tle foiwd that a conside<®»uUwßß, TH, n n ne ceasary, and the p&e of the mod Ho " 8 ®' 58 Present, Drapery a , nd Extensiv « Noffilani S 110 ? 3m , ?» o! pies & ] flr(!0 8Ml f! rapery oeou " Rraply t by2s feet ' Fancy Dresieg f dM t aU Manchester goods, Bibtons, Laces,' Ia n ?'?' „ H f ier J'Youths'- ClothiL n Th ® M<ms ' Boy s, and ' feet bv 14 f!lt 8 Pepartment measures 24 abie 4J!!' i la9 attaoiled » comfort- ! furmahinm h! pels Household them. AaT aßlmila f «P MO allotted to linerv M,„« bo^ r r om lot &0 sale of Miltvewsn ° ' aoket8 ' Coßtames, &o„ is nn T. 8 apartment, elegantly fitted TZTTf'y'.'j».« aelectU j 8 ' lmes ' ar ß a and well fmi nn' a °r are forwarded post «ree on application.